


Of Fragile Sons and Unbreakable Bonds

by The_Morningstar



Series: EXO Mythical Creature AU [4]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Baby Oh Sehun, Domestic Fluff, Fairy Byun Baekhyun, Fluff, Giant Park Chanyeol, M/M, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Satyr Oh Sehun
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-16
Updated: 2020-12-16
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:28:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28117692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Morningstar/pseuds/The_Morningstar
Summary: The long awaited part 4 of my EXO Mythical Creatures AU!"He almost doesn’t want to look down at his arms for fear that he has somehow managed to hurt Sehun already.Small, fragile baby Sehun.His baby Sehun."OR Chanyeol holds his baby son for the first time
Relationships: Byun Baekhyun/Park Chanyeol
Series: EXO Mythical Creature AU [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1237037
Kudos: 15





	Of Fragile Sons and Unbreakable Bonds

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry for it being so long. My mental health has been a mess lately and I haven't been taking the best care of myself. I finally talked to a therapist and things are starting to look up. I hope you enjoy this, even though it is quite short. I'm considering rewriting the earlier installments, but I don't want to make any promises.  
> COVID has definitely been a time. I had to put my cat down in May, and I was at school and unable to visit my mother's grave on the anniversary of her death for the first time in the 12 years she's been gone. I'm doing a lot better now, thankfully, and I feel like I'd like to get back to this series.  
> I hope all of you are healthy and safe right now. My messages are open and my comment section is always here if you guys ever need a safe place to vent.

Chanyeol has always had a plethora of insecurities. For starters, he’s a giant in a place where giants aren’t common. Most of his family had opted to stay in rural areas, but Baekhyun wanted to be close to the city and who was he to say no? The city isn’t very well-acclimated for creatures of greater heights, so Chanyeol has become used to ducking whilst in shops or needing one side of the booth to himself at restaurants. He’s also become very aware that his grip can be too strong and he can be too clumsy. 

It makes sense that Chanyeol is terrified of holding babies, given these circumstances. The first time he held Yixing, his and Baekhyun’s first child, Chanyeol was well beyond terrified. The small dryad could fit in the palm of one hand, and Chanyeol felt so awkward and large while holding him. Thankfully, Yixing was a very calm and happy baby, so Chanyeol had not been forced to deal with a crying baby. 

Zitao was the opposite of Yixing. Zitao is a sun elf, which makes him very lean and light, so naturally Chanyeol would be traumatized by holding such a seemingly fragile infant. Tao also cried. Tao cried a lot. Chanyeol did not hold his second son until he was four months old because he was afraid he would break Tao. The first time the baby elf sat cradled by his giant father, Tao went completely silent and just stared at his father in awe with a massive, gummy smile in his little face. Holding Tao quickly had become one of Chanyeol’s favorite pastimes. 

Centaurs are built pretty sturdy. Jongin naturally has strong bones and powerful muscles, and he also didn’t join Chanyeol and Baekhyun’s household until he was already nearly five years old. Nini is more of a momma’s boy, and while he does love Chanyeol, he can mostly be found hovering around Baekhyun, looking for attention. However, the boy is always happy to get hugs from his dad, even if he may prefer his papa. 

Sehun though… Sehunnie scares Chanyeol. Scratch that; Sehunnie  _ terrifies _ Chanyeol. The baby satyr is just so fragile. There had been signs prior to Sehun’s birth that something was off, but when his birth mom went into labor at 34 weeks and Sehun was born pure white and weighing four pounds, it was frankly terrifying. The sight of tiny, tiny Sehun in NICU looking so fragile left quite the impression on the already nervous Chanyeol. Even now, when Sehunnie is almost nine months old, he has never been held by Chanyeol. 

_ What if I bruise him? _ Chanyeol thinks, looking at the baby’s fragile skin; the color is so pale that he is reminded of snow.  _ What if I stand too close to a window and he gets sunburn? What if he starts crying? What if I drop him? What if -- _

“Oh, stop psyching yourself out, you big baby.” Baekhyun’s sweet voice is, as always, carrying sarcasm and amusement. “He’s just a baby, he’s not going to attack you!” Sehun makes a little whining noise as if to try and disagree with his papa. Baekhyun comes up beside Chanyeol and plucks Sehunnie out of his crib and holds the baby close to his chest.

“But he’s so little--” Chanyeol starts to defend his cowardice. 

“So was Tao.” Baekhyun huffs and pushes Sehun into Chanyeol’s unsuspecting chest, and he instinctively grabs the baby to steady him. His loving husband takes Chanyeol’s temporarily shocked state as an opportunity to hightail it out of the room before Chanyeol can give the baby back. 

Chanyeol feels his whole body freeze up due to either anger or terror; he’s pretty sure it’s more terror than anger. He almost doesn’t want to look down at his arms for fear that he has somehow managed to hurt Sehun already. Small, fragile baby Sehun.  _ His  _ baby Sehun. 

His baby Sehun, who starts squirming around. Chanyeol can feel tiny hands grabbing his shirt and hear small huffs of quiet, high-pitched, laughter. Sehun has always been a giggly baby, but only around Chanyeol. Only a few months ago, Baekhyun had been so afraid because their baby just would not smile or laugh like other infants. His first laugh had been at six and-a-half months when Chanyeol tripped in the kitchen and put a hole in the wall trying to catch himself. Despite all the faces and noises Baekhyun has to make for Sehun to laugh, all Chanyeol has to do is be in the same room as the baby for him to giggle like a little maniac.

Chanyeol steels himself and mentally prepares for the worst. He looks down.

There is no blood, no broken bones, no shattered Sehun in his arms. Instead, Chanyeol finds his baby son staring back at him with large, grey eyes and an open-mouth smile, showing off his first few baby teeth that only recently started growing in. Chanyeol can’t help smiling back and is even brave enough to bounce Sehun in his arms a little bit.

“Ba ba ba--” Sehun babbles between screechy giggles, kicking his tiny furred legs against Chanyeol’s chest and slapping his hands on whatever they can reach. The sheer adoration on his son’s face is enough to make Chanyeol’s chest feel tight with emotion. He feels a sense of pride. He’s proud of himself for facing his fear and finally holding his son, but he also feels a strong sense of shame. Sehun is almost nine months old. He has let his own fears keep him from truly bonding with his child, and now that he’s holding Sehun, he realizes his reluctance was all for nothing. 

A few tears manage to escape despite his attempt to control himself. Chanyeol holds Sehn against him, feeling the rise and fall of his baby’s chest and the small puffs of air. 

Chanyeol doesn’t even notice when Baekhyun reenters the room and is standing right next to him. It isn’t until Baekhyun speaks that Chanyeol knows he is no longer alone with Sehun. 

“Are you okay?” Baekhyun’s voice is the softest he’s ever heard it. It’s the voice he uses when Zitao runs into their room because he’s convinced there’s a monster under his bed. The same inflection he used when Jongin was still new in their home and so, so shy and easily scared. 

“Perfect.” 


End file.
